Oil Wars

Ongoing analysis of events in Venezuela and Iraq

Saturday, March 25, 2006

"I do want to encourage them"

File this one under the heading of we'll see how its related to Venezuela 30 years from now. Although we all know (in spite of the oppositions ludicrious denials) that a coup against the Chavez government occured on April 11, 2002 and we also know, from the work of Eva Golinger, that the U.S. knew about it and most likely had some involvement with it, the true and complete extent of U.S. support for it is unknown. Of course, the U.S. government denies any involvement at all.

But as with similar events in the past the truth most likely won't emerge until decades after the fact as did this rather interesting little cable about another Latin American coup:

...the National Security Archive, a private research group based in Washington, has made public newly declassified United States government cables and transcripts relating to the 1976 coup.

Documents indicate, for example, that when a deputy warned Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger two days after the coup to "expect a fair amount of repression, probably a good deal of blood," Mr. Kissinger was unfazed and ordered American support for the new military junta.

"I do want to encourage them," Mr. Kissinger said, according to the documents. "I don't want to give the sense that they're harassed by the United States."

And I don't know about you, but God forbid a miliary junta feel harrassed by the U.S.